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Neuroecology studies ways in which the structure and function of the brain results from adaptations to a specific habitat and niche.[1] It integrates the multiple disciplines of neuroscience, which examines the biological basis of cognitive and emotional processes, such as perception, memory, and decision-making,[2] with the field of ecology, which studies the relationship between living organisms and their physical environment.[3]
In biology, the term 'adaptation' signifies the way evolutionary processes enhance an organism's fitness to survive within a specific ecological context. This fitness includes the development of physical, cognitive, and emotional adaptations specifically suited to the environmental conditions in which the organism or phenotype lives, and in which its species or genotype evolves.[4]
Neuroecology concentrates specifically on neurological adaptations, particularly those of the brain. The purview of this study encompasses two areas. Firstly, neuroecology studies how the physical structure and functional activity of neural networks in a phenotype is influenced by characteristics of the environmental context. This includes the way social stressors, interpersonal relationships, and physical conditions precipitate persistent alterations in the individual brain, providing the neural correlates of cognitive and emotional responses. Secondly, neuroecology studies how neural structure and activity common to a genotype is determined by natural selection of traits that benefit survival and reproduction in a specific environment.[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ Mars, R. B. & Bryant, K. L.,Neuroecology: The brain in its world. In: Della Sala, S., (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of Behavioural Neuroscience (2nd Edition), pp. 757-765. Elsevier, 2021. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-819641-0.00054-2. ISBN 9780128216361. OCLC 1269074146.
- ^ Kandel, E. R., Principles of neural science, Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill Education, 2012. ISBN 9780071390118. OCLC 1131918242.
- ^ Odum, E. P. & Barrett, G. W., Fundamentals of ecology. Brooks Cole, 2005. ISBN 9780534420666. OCLC 443596790.
- ^ Dobzhansky, T., On some fundamental concepts of Darwinian biology. In Dobzhansky,T.; Hecht, M. K.; & Steere, W. C., (Eds.). Evolutionary Biology. Volume 2. Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1968. pp. 1–34. ISBN 9781468480962. OCLC 840289682.
- ^ Pickett, S. T., Kolasa, J., & Jones, C. G., Ecological understanding: the nature of theory and the theory of nature. Elsevier, 2010. ISBN 9780125547208. OCLC 314928421.
- ^ Watanabe, S., Hofman, M. A., & Shimizu, T. (Eds.), Evolution of the brain, cognition, and emotion in vertebrates. Springer, 2017. ISBN 9784431565598. OCLC 1008580234.
External links
Cognitive Neuroecology Lab at the FMRIB Centre of the University of Oxford (UK) and Donders Institute in Nijmegen (Netherlands)